A U.S. military helicopter crashed in Okinawa, Japan on Monday in the training area of Camp Hansen, a U.S. military base. The HH-60 rescue helicopter with a crew of four crashed during training exercises according to the Associated Press.
There are conflicting reports as to the condition of the helicopter's crew. The U.S. Air Force said that the status of the crew was still unknown while the Japanese defense minister said that three of the four crewmembers survived the crash. Japanese sources said that there were no casualties among residents on the ground, according to Reuters.
"This is really regrettable. We are asking the U.S. side for a speedy supply of information," Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera said. "We plan to strongly demand for investigation into the cause of the accident and measures to prevent a recurrence."
Residents of Okinawa have been uncomfortable with the number of American military stationed on the island for quite some time. Roughly half of the 50,000 U.S. troops stationed in Japan are stationed in Okinawa and residents complain that about the noise, crime and accidents that come from the bases, according to the Associated Press.
Recently residents were strongly opposed to a Marine decision to deploy 12 MV-22 Osprey transport aircraft to Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, a base that was supposed to be closed a decade ago. Various complications have stalled the construction of a replacement base so Futenma is still running, according to the Associated Press.
The crash brought back memories of an incident that occurred in 2004. A CH-53 Marine Corps helicopter crashed into a university building causing a flare-up of anti-military sentiment in the community. Luckily, in that accident the crew survived and no one on the ground was injured.
The mayor of Kadena was not surprised by Monday's crash.
"We knew it was going to happen sooner or later," Mayor Hiroshi Toyama said.
